The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television (Oxford Companions) Review

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The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television (Oxford Companions) ReviewThe Oxford Companion to the American Musical is a surprisingly detailed overview of the the American musicals of Broadway, film and television as witnessed/researched through author Thomas Hischak. The most exciting part of this book is its careful research of the television musical, until now all but glossed over in books on the subject of musical theatre. There was a point in time where television churned out musicals and it is nice to see them get their due. Holiday Specials by Rankin and Bass added much to our song lexicon and it is nice to see them so well represented.
Obviously, the book has its omissions, something that is inevitable when a book has this size and scope. But entries are lovingly chosen and carefully researched and those that are left out are judiciously put aside, or accounted for under other entries. For example: I am a big fan of the musical flop Nick and Nora. N&N does not have it's own entry, but it is mentioned in several other places such us under Joanna Gleason's entry.It is amazing, through cross referencing, just how much author Hischak has accounted for.
One special note: an earlier reviewer of this book makes mention of the musical Destry Rides Again as being named merely "Destry." This is false, as any student of Stanley Greene's Broadway Musicals: Show By Show will tell you. The musical was indeed called Destry Rides Again.
Any true fan of musical theatre will find minor quibbles with any book that may leave out the particular pieces of minutia that fascinate them. However, this book is one of the best of its kind and it is cram packed FULL of wonderful details and oft cast aside information. A must read.The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television (Oxford Companions) Overview

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Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Broadway Legacies) Review

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Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Broadway Legacies) ReviewIt's good to have this engaging and informative work, which gives descriptive due to a great sweep of American musical history--from the early twentieth-century to near its end.
The problem is that its central character remains something of a bit-player in the otherwise rich narrative. Who WAS Dorthy Fields? Her psychology? Her work methods? What did her lyrics do and HOW? How, actually, did she navigate a field almost exclusively controlled by men? What of her personal life?
Alas, Greenspan has, for whatever reasons (perhaps due to a dearth of revelatory materials) scrimped in addressing these basic questions and similar others. Slowly, the reader's interest wanes.
By all means buy this book if you care about the American musical. But don't expect to learn more than a summary amount about one of the great practitioners of its craft.
Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Broadway Legacies) Overview

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Hollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song-and-Dance Movies of All Time Review

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Hollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song-and-Dance Movies of All Time Review
Every major Hollywood musical is in this book. There are dozens of performers with pictures to boot. Composers are on every page, and writers, and designers. Each film is presented over several pages, and the pictures are fantastic. The author uses a very distinctive template so you know what to expect for each musical. With every story you are going to see the following:*A plot synopsis
*The Cast
*Song lists
*Production details
*Behind the scenes anecdotes
*QuotationsIt's the photography that is very special in this book. There are color photographs and black and whites as well. You will see production stills, and off camera shots that are intriguing. Each musical also has the original film poster that was associated with the show. Among the more than 100 musicals that are portrayed in this book are:*An American in Paris
*The Music Man
*My Fair Lady
*Oklahoma
*Singin' in the Rain
*The Sound of MusicCONCLUSION:I bought the book for my former wife who runs a theatre school, and then I started to look through it before I gave it to her. I wound up reading the whole book. It was that enthralling. I don't think it is possible to just glance at Hollywood Musicals. Once you pick it up and open it, you get hooked. Then you start looking for your favorites, and you get hooked even more. I guess I'm going to have to get my own copy and thank you for reading this review. Richard C. StoyeckHollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song-and-Dance Movies of All Time OverviewA spectacular, information-packed celebration of the most beloved movie musicals, from My Fair Lady and Singing in the Rain to Moulin Rouge and High School Musical. The follow-up hit to the bestselling and acclaimed Broadway Musicals, Hollywood Musicals pays grand tribute to the 101 most popular and enduring musical movies. Beginning in 1927 and continuing to the present it celebrates all of the greatest films of the genre including Yankee Doodle Dandy, Cabaret, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, A Star is Born, West Side Story, Funny Face, The Jazz Singer, and All That Jazz, as well as more recent movie musicals such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Organized alphabetically, each film is featured across several spreads, which are jam-packed with expert commentary that places the film in historical and cultural context. Also included are features on the film's creators and cast, plot synopses, song lists, production details, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, original movie posters, and much more. Beautifully reproduced photographs of the most memorable and pivotal scenes, the stars, and off-camera shots adorn the pages and illuminate the text. Sidebars include cast albums, flops, the greatest scores, and lesser-known musicals.

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